


Ten to One

by cloutka



Category: EXO (Band), K-pop
Genre: Fluff, M/M, One Shot, coffee shop AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 15:00:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12484304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cloutka/pseuds/cloutka
Summary: Kai has been noticing a certain man coming in to the coffee shop every time he works. The shy man never seems to manage to utter a single word when Kai goes over to him to take his order, though. What's more, he has a habit of leaving not-so-discreet hints on his napkins that Kai should stop smoking. Kai is both at once intrigued and confused.





	Ten to One

**Author's Note:**

> Brace yourselves for some tooth-rotting fluff over here.

Ten...

Ten times he'd seen this man sitting there by the window during his Wednesday shifts so far. He was always staring out at the busy street, unbothered by the rest of the world around him. At first, he hadn't made much of his presence, but time and time again he'd appear, like clockwork, and claim the exact same seat. The small coffee shop had regulars, of course, but there was something strange about this one. On the first day, Kai had gotten a proper look at the man when heading to his table to take his order. He was a young-looking thing, with a rounded face and wide eyes. His dark bangs would always tickle his browline, causing him to flick his head to the side every few seconds. Perhaps the most distinguishing factor about this man was his full, heart-shaped lips. They'd stretched into a small smile when Kai had arrived. Wide, hopeful eyes had taken in his appearance, and the man had immediately turned his gaze downcast, as though suddenly embarrassed.

"What can I get you today?" Kai had asked in his usual polite tone, swiping a hand over his finely styled blond hair. He'd dealt with all sorts before, and knew that shy types needed a little coaxing.

The man's finger traveled across the small laminated menu and pointed at the hot chocolate, and flashed Kai a small smile.

"One hot chocolate. Alright. It shouldn't take too long." With a nod of his head, Kai was off towards the counter, unaware of the man's gaze following him. He prepared the hot chocolate, and brought it to the customer. The man offered him yet another smile, and began to carefully sip on his drink, without so much as a thank you. But Kai wasn't offended. Some customers had done far worse than forget a simple 'thank you'.

Some time later, when he returned to collect the man's money, Kai was mildly surprised to find a small folded napkin swan sitting on the table. He slid the bill across the small round table, and wordlessly, the man fished some bills out of his pocket and tended them to him. 

Once the man had left, Kai picked up the swan, getting a closer look at it. This man was skilled in origami, he noted. 

 

 

Nine...

Nine long seconds of silence followed his question. Kai had asked his boss if this man came on any other days of the week. His boss paused, seeming to think it over, before shaking his head.

"No. Now that you mention it, he doesn't. He only seems to come at the same time on Wednesdays" he stated, momentarily frowning. Then his expression lightened. "He must like you" he teased, giving Kai's arm a nudge. 

Kai just pursed his lips. "Yeah, right." The man wasn't coming here for him.

When the door gave a jingle, Kai poked his head around the corner to see the man come in.

"Well speak of the devil" chuckled his boss. "I dare you to ask him if that's why he comes." With a wink, his boss vanished into the back room. Kai was glad that he and his boss got along so well, although he suspected it was in part due to the fact that they weren't very far apart in age. 

Kai, being young, had never had much of a proper relationship before. He did not come from a wealthy family, and had to work two jobs to get himself through school. Between those three things, he didn't have much time to give relationships the slightest of thoughts. He did think this customer was kind of cute, but it would be inappropriate to make that fact known. There was just something vulnerable and innocent about him, but what was more, he remained just as much of a mystery as he'd been on the first day.

"Here again? You must really like our hot chocolate" Kai chuckled, standing in front of the table. He shot a glance at the back of the shop at the door his boss had disappeared behind.

The man looked up at him curiously, and once again, smiled. It softened the rest of his face, but still didn't offer a concrete answer for Kai. Right, so that was about as much of an answer as he was about to get. He wasn't even sure why he tried to engage in conversation.

Kai served the hot chocolate like usual, but when he was left alone in the shop with the napkin bird before him, he noticed the napkin had black markings on it. Brows furrowing, Kai unfolded the creature to find a proverb written in pen on the crinkly white surface. "After three years at a village schoolhouse, even a dog can recite a poem" he read aloud to himself. What on earth was he meant to practice in this case? Shaking his head, he tossed the napkin in the trash and went outside for a smoke break. God knew he needed it.

 

 

Eight...

Eight times the man had meekly glanced toward the counter, searching. For him? Kai was hiding behind one of the coffee machines, having sent his boss out to serve the customer. While the customer drank his hot chocolate, he'd keep diverting his gaze from the window to peer at the empty counter. On more than one occasion, Kai was tempted to suddenly come out of hiding just to see if it elicited a reaction in the man.

His boss hadn't gotten the man to speak either, which made Kai feel relieved that at least the man wasn't afraid of him. It was likely an aversion of people in general. He knew loads of people who were socially shy and tended not to come out of their shells very often.

With each visit made by the man, Kai strangely found himself wondering how he might get him to speak. And each time, he reminded himself that it was stupid to care. If he wished to be silent, then he should just let him be silent. Still, some small part of him pondered at the sound of his voice. Was it deep? Did it have grit to it? Did he have a lisp?

These thoughts would sometimes penetrate his mind in the quiet moments at the shop. 

Once the man left the shop, and his boss returned with the money, Kai darted out to the table, and snatched up the intricately folded napkin. After opening it, he didn't find writing upon it, but a simple drawing of a pair of lips closed around a smoking cigarette. While he was admiring he man's drawing skills, the reason for all those other proverbs he kept leaving suddenly made sense. 

Kai crumpled the napkin in his hand. How did he know? Not only that he'd actually been here today, but also that he was a smoker, and a heavy one at that. Swiftly, the young man brought his hand in front of his mouth and breathed into it before giving it a sniff. He did gobble down mints like candies to keep the smell off his breath, but found that the scent of ashes still lingered. 

He wasn't sure what to make of this. Had this stranger been discreetly telling him to quit smoking all this time because he was too shy to tell him he smelled bad? Consciously, Kai extracted a small tin from his pocket and popped three mints into his mouth. He made a note to perhaps apologize to the man next time he came around.

 

 

Seven...

Seven expletives had slipped from between his lips when he'd let the cup overflow, distracted by his contemplation of saying anything to the man today. The cup hit the ground with a crash, and smashed to pieces, spraying brown liquid all over the floor. The customer instantly perked up at the disturbance, looking straight at Kai from across the shop, who was cradling his burnt hand. 

His boss emerged from the back in a rush. "Is everything alright?" he asked, taking in the mess.

"Yeah, I'll take care of it, don't worry. It's just a minor accident" Kai reassured his superior, waving him off. 

Stupid, stupid, stupid, he scolded himself as he mopped up the liquid. After throwing away the white shards, he gave the hot chocolate another shot, this time managing not to spill any of it. As had become routine, the man smiled at him when he brought it over, quiet as ever.

After serving a few other customers, Kai ran cold water from the tap. He sharply inhaled when he initially placed his hand beneath the stream, but the shock was eventually replaced with a soothing numbness. It helped, but didn't altogether get rid of the sting when he removed his hand to go deliver the bill to the table by the window. 

He carefully slid the small paper across the table with his injured hand while his good hand placed his pen back in his front pocket. The man, rather than reach for the bill, grasped onto Kai's fingers. Startled, Kai's head snapped up and he was met with the customer's unflinching stare. The coffee shop worker had temporarily frozen, ensnared by those still brown pupils. He let out the breath he'd been holding in when the man's eyes lowered to their linked hands. Gently, he turned Kai's hand to bring the burn into the light, examining the reddened and rough flesh. Small creases of concern appeared on the man's forehead.

And as abruptly as Kai's hand had been taken, it was released once again, and Kai let it hang limply at his side. The man, now in a sudden rush, had placed his money on the table and got up to leave. Kai opened his mouth, thinking about his earlier-contemplated apology, but he ended up shutting it again, and the man was gone. Slowly, he closed and opened his burnt hand, still processing the man's touch. 

He'd nearly forgotten about his napkin bird. That was because there wasn't one today. The napkin lay flat on the table, displaying yet another proverb. Before he got around to reading it, Kai noticed the lines in the crinkled cloth, as though it had previously been folded many times. It dawned upon him that this probably had been in the form of a bird, but the man had unfolded it for some reason. Then Kai raised his burnt hand, looking back and forth between it and the napkin. A weirdly warm feeling filled his chest just then, but he shook it off, focusing instead on reading the message. This proverb spoke of health. As if on cue, Kai coughed -- an entirely normal occurrence for the smoker.

Looking out the window, Kai had this nagging feeling that perhaps the man wasn't concerned about his smell after all. Unfortunately for the guy, it was highly unlikely that Kai would ever stop smoking, even if the thought was nice. 

As he passed the trashcan, his hand paused in holding out the napkin over it. Instead, his hand came back towards him, and he tucked the napkin into his pocket as a last-second decision. 

 

 

Six...

There were six flowers in the man's daffodil bouquet. The bright color of them had immediately caught Kai's eye when the customer had entered. They weren't tied together by a ribbon, but rather haphazardly bunched together in his hand. The man looked a little more nervous than usual, constantly fidgeting with them.

Kai didn't even bother taking his order anymore, and just brought over his hot chocolate. After setting the cup and saucer down on the table, he couldn't help but comment on the flowers. 

"Those are really nice flowers" he said. The customer smiled at that. "I'm sure whoever they're for will enjoy them greatly. A loved one perhaps? Girlfriend, or mother, or..." Kai trailed off, remembering that he wasn't going to get a response.

The other man smiled bashfully, a light tint spreading onto his cheeks. The corner of Kai's lips lopsidedly tugged upwards at the sight, but he quickly wiped it off his face the second he realized he was doing it. "I'm sorry," Kai sighed. "I keep asking you questions. You must think I'm awfully intrusive." He really needed to leave the man be.

The customer looked up at him and shook his head. 

"I'm not?"

He shook his head again.

"Oh. Well...that's good." On that awkward note, Kai bowed his head and made his leave.

Kai finished up cleaning the counter and was about to head back over to the man's table when he noticed that the man was no longer there. Frowning, he walked to the table to see his regular bird-shaped PSA sitting there, along with the exact amount of money to pay for the hot chocolate. But, the man had also left his daffodils behind. Now it was Kai's turn to flush.

After quickly looking around him, Kai rapidly snatched all three items off the table and scurried back to the counter. For now, he tucked the flowers onto a shelf beneath the counter. The man might have just forgotten the flowers and would return for them later. Or....

Well, either way, he'd better hide these from his boss.

 

 

Five...

Kai had smoked five cigarettes today. That was a low number for this point in the day, but he was about to change that as he exited into the side alley. The weather was grim today, with a chill beginning to settle. His cheeks tingled from the wind whipping them on its way by. He waited for it to die down before popping open his pack of cigarettes and extracting one. He stuck it between his lips and dug around in his jacket for his lighter. Clicking it, a small flame burst into existence.

Kai stared down the length of his cigarette at the source of light, but never actually brought it forward to light the tip. After a few seconds, he dropped his thumb, and the flame was gone. Emitting a noise of frustration, the man squeezed his eyes shut. 

An image had popped to mind; that of a drawn pair of lips holding a cigarette. Kai plucked his cigarette from his mouth and ran a hand over his face. He hadn't been taking the bird-messages to heart...or so he'd thought. The thought of lighting this cigarette brought forth the image of those heart-shaped lips frowning in concern like they had when he'd burnt his hand. Those little creases in his forehead appeared, but for different reasons. 

Looking down at his cigarette, Kai pressed his lips together and shoved it back into his pack before trudging back into the shop. He wasn't sure how he felt about this one stranger having such an impact on him. And increasingly so. Kai had thought about those heart-shaped lips more often than he'd like to admit, and those daffodils were still sitting in his small appartment, kept alive by the water he'd poured into their vase. 

Damn this shy stranger.

 

 

Four...

Four customers had just walked into the shop. An interesting-looking lot, they were. Two bikers, and an elderly couple. It became clear rather quickly that they were not actually here together. The elderly couple moved to claim a table by the wall, but the bikers had set their sights on the table by the window. The exact table which Lips, as Kai had so conveniently nicknamed him now, currently sat. 

Kai felt a little uneasy about this. 

The two men flagged him down, and Kai strode over to them, keeping a professional air to him. "What can I do for you, gentlemen?"

The one biker pointed at Lips's table. "We'd like to sit there" he stated bluntly.

"That table is currently occupied. There are lots of other available tables, however" Kai replied, motioning around the shop. 

"But we want to sit next to the window" the same one stubbornly retorted. Before Kai could get another word in, the man turned around and approached Lips. "Is this table yours?" he asked.

Lips's wide eyes blinked a few times before he slowly nodded. That was the wrong answer.

"Well we need you to move. Got it?" When silence followed, the biker cocked his head. "Cat got your tongue?"

Lips stood up from his seat, and that's when Kai stepped forward, lightly grabbing the biker's shoulder. "Please, there's no need to make a scene. Just le- " Kai was cut off as the man shoved him to the side, and he smacked into the neighboring table. 

Kai wasn't 100% sure what happened next, but Lips's face gradually started to screw up, and an arm lashed out to punch the biker closest to him. This surely spelled death for the short man, but his boss then burst out from the behind the counter.

"Out! Both of you! I will not have my customers harrassed!" he said sharply, glaring at both men. His boss wiggled his cellphone threateningly at the bikers. The latter were not pleased, but they got the message and stormed out. "Just when I think I've seen it all..." he muttered to himself, shaking his head as he returned to his post. "I apologize for the disturbance" he announced to the rest of the room.

Kai hadn't taken his eyes off of Lips, staring at him in awe. For someone so sheltered and meek, he had some guts...and strength, at that. Or perhaps it was a short-temper. This brought on the realization that Kai truly didn't know a single thing about this man. 

The anger drained from Lips's face once the bikers had left, and he now turned to Kai. There was that look of concern again.

"I'm fine" Kai assured him. "And....thanks."

In return, he received a small smile. Despite himself, Kai smiled back.

 

 

Three...

In two weeks, Kai had smoked a total of three packs. That was way below his normal quota. It wasn't out of the ordinary for him to go through two packs in a single day. But the more he thought about Lips, especially since the incident with the obnoxious bikers, the less he wanted to light that cigarette between his teeth. If the small stranger could defend himself, possibly as a response to Kai being shoved, then maybe, just maybe, he could make a small effort to make the man's wishes come true. Now, he wasn't saying he was going to stop completely, but he was definitely cutting down, driven by a feeling he could only describe as guilt.

The downside to this was that it was taking a toll on him. His boss had noticed Kai's added irritability on some days. The cravings were strong, but contrarily to Lips previously interrupting his thoughts, he specifically thought of him to combat the cravings. If Lips knew, he'd surely be proud.

Kai had debated on letting him know one day, but then what would he say afterwards? He had so much he wanted to ask the man, but it was difficult when there was no guarantee of receiving an answer. A conversation was supposed to be between two people. Not one-sided.

Twice, Lips had come in, and twice, Kai had remained just as silent as his customer. Today, when the man dropped by, Kai still had no intention of bringing those things up, but he had been discreetly brainstorming on how he might get him to speak. Or even just make noise. The first idea that had come to mind was laughter. But that required being funny. Kai did plenty of laughing, but wasn't exactly known for being a comedian. The next thing that came to mind was fear.

Around the time when Lips should be arriving, Kai tucked himself behind the door. Some of the other customers looked at him strangely, but he tried to ignore them. Meanwhile, his boss stood behind the counter with a knowing smile dancing on his lips. 

When the door opened, Kai sprung out from his spot. Lips gave a jerked, eyes flying wide open, but much to Kai's dismay, the only sound that came out of the man was that of air rapidly rushing into his body. No scream, no yelp, not even a peep. So much for that. "Sorry" he awkwardly apologized. He tried not to feel too disappointed as he walked to the back to prepare the hot chocolate. 

When trying to set the cup in front of Lips, his hands trembled, making for a shaking descent. The tremor was an occasional side-effect of his lowered nicotine intake. Before he could make it all the way down, the other man grabbed his wrist, and with his other hand took the cup from him. Lips' hand gave his arm a light squeeze, and was paired with the smile Kai had come to enjoy so much, letting him know that things were okay. That they would always be okay. Maybe it would be fine if Lips decided never to speak to him, as long as Kai still got to see him smile. 

 

 

Two...

It took exactly two seconds for Kai to make up his mind upon seeing Lips walk through the door. These thoughts had been brewing in his mind for long enough now. Looking at all his accumulated napkin collection had helped him decide.

He needed to say something. He would go absolutely insane if he didn't. The silence between them had gone on for long enough.

Lips clearly cared. And....Kai found that he did too. He still had no idea how he'd gotten here, yet here he was. The first step to getting to know someone better was to say hello. And that was precisely what Kai intended to do. Get straight to the point like he'd been too foolish to do all this time, regardless if the other man replied. 

Walking to the windowside table with a cup of hot chocolate in hand, Kai was feeling optimistic. If this didn't work out, then at least he could say he tried.

 

 

One...

One word Lips couldn't say.

"Hello," Kai greeted with a smile, setting the cup down. "You know, I don't think I caught your name after all this time" he prompted with a chuckle. Waiting was the hard part.

Lips swallowed, but then those heart-shaped lips parted, and Kai's hopes rose. Those lips began to move, but no sound came out. 

"Sorry, I didn't quite hear you" Kai apologized sincerely. He lowered himself down to the sitting man's level and got closer, turning his head in the hopes of catching even a whisper of a syllable. He waited for what felt like a while, when suddenly, a pair of warm lips pressed against his cheek, gone as quickly as they'd come.

When Kai turned his head in surprise, the other man was bashfully flushing.

"I- W-w-... H..." Kai dumbly stammered, clearly caught off guard. 

Lips bit his lip and reached down to grab Kai's hand. He guided it up to his throat, where he rested it gently by his Adam's apple. He repeated the same lip motion as before, but beneath his hand, although Kai felt his apple moving, there was no vibration. It took a second for it to sink in.

Kai looked up at the man in astonishment. "You can't..."

Lips nodded with a small smile.

Kai straightened up and ran a hand through his hair. That not only explained a lot, but set these past few dozen weeks into perspective. Gradually, a smile spread on his lips, and he even emitted a laugh. 

"So how am I to ever know your name? You deserve to be called by more than just a placeholder name" said Kai.

Lips pulled his sharpie out of his pocket and grabbed for his napkin. When he'd finished writing, he held the napkin in front of his mouth. 

"Kyungsoo" Kai read out loud, finding himself grinning. Finally, the man had a name. Kai pulled his pen out of his work shirt and wrote his own name on the napkin.

Kyungsoo lowered it and turned it around, reading what Kai had written. Kai watched as Kyungsoo's lips mimicked the enunciation of his name, as though testing it out just like he'd done with the other man's. 

"Now that we've formally been introduced, I think we have a lot of talking to do, hm?" said Kai.

Kyungsoo scribbled on the napkin again, and then turned it to show it to Kai.

"Tons" it said.


End file.
